Electric-circuit controller.



PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907.

r M. SGHUPPB.

ELEGTRIU CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 7 1905 UNITED srArns PATENT OFFICE.

MAX SOHUPPE, on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO BERNARD r. SEADLER, or NEWYORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1907.

A li ation fil d January 7,1905. Serial No. 240,091.

.zen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York,county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Electrio-Circuit Controllers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to electric circuit controllers.

Some of the objects of my invention are to provide such a circuitcontroller that will prevent all danger from sparking; and also thatwill prevent a too sudden turning .on and off of the full currentthrough the circuit.

Other objects of my invention are to provide means for automaticallybreaking the circuit through mechanism operated by a niptor, and forbreaking said circuit gradua y.

My invention consists of certain features and details, hereinafterdescribed and shown.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of myimproved circuit controller, showing diagrammatically the circuit, motorarmature and field. Fig.2 is an end elevation of the controller showingin diagram the connection between the motor and switch. Fig. 3 is adetail of the contact and insulated portions of the controller, as shownin Fig.

Similar characters represent like parts in all the figures.

1 represents an electric motor armature, and 2 its shaft.

3 is a shaft which turns very slowly during the rapid revolutions of themotor shaft 2, and which shaft 3 may be turned with shaft 2 by means ofreducing gearing.

4 is a lever switch loosely journaled on the shaft 3 and provided at oneend with a counterbalance weight 5 fora purpose hereinafter .to bedescribed.

6 is a bar provided with vertical slots 7, through whichpass pins 8secured to the machine frame, and providing means by which said bar maybe guided vertically on the machine frame. The bar 6 is provided with apin 9 extending laterally above the lever switch 4, and by means ofwhich said lever switch can be turned on the shaft 3 when the bar 6drops or is drawn downward, see Fig. 1.

10 is a trip lever fulcrumed above the bar 6 and having its longer armextending into a vertical slot 11 in a tube or chute 12. The short armof the lever 10, that is the arm 0pposite to that which is in the slot11, is provided with a counterbalance weight 13, so that the long arm oflever 10 will be held in contact with the upper end of the slot 11,until a weight heavy enough to counterbalance weight 13 drops upon thelong arm of p lever 10 in said slot. When said weight drops upon saidlong arm of the lever, it will act to lower the same and drop the lever.

14 is a spring latch lever fulcrumed above the bar 6 and helow'the lever10, and with the latch of said lever 14 normally engagin with a pin 15on the bar- 6, so as to lock sai bar in its raised position and with thearm of the lever 14 opposite its latch extending substantiallyhorizontally under a downward extension 16 of the lever 10, which restsupon said arm or lever 14, (see Fig. 1).

17 is a spring latch lever pivoted to the frame of the machine at apoint below the lever 14 and adapted to engage with pin 18 on the leverswitch 4 when the arm bearing said pin is in its lowest position, asshown in full lines. in Fig. 1. The bar 6 is provided with a laterallyextending cam 19 for engaging with the arm of the lever 17 opposite thelatch when said bar 6 rises, so as to force said latch away fromengagement with the pin 18 to permit the switch 4 to be drawn down byits weight 5, and to assume the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 1. Secured to the shaft 3 is a disk 20 provided with a lateral pin21, and the bar 6 is provided with two laterally extending cams or noses22 and 23 for engagenientwit-h the in 21.

24 is a weight suspends by a cord 25 from the lower end of bar 6, todraw said bar down'when released from the latch lever 14.

26 26 are two terminals with which switch 4 is to engage and whichterminals are in the circuit 27 in which is also the motor field 28. Theupper part of each terminal 26 is composed of an insulated section. Uponthis part switch 4 rests, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, when themachine is at rest. 2929 are other terminals with which the switch 4 isadapted to engage, and which terminals are in the circuit 30, in whichis also the motor armature 1, the controller 31 and its branch circuits32. The lower part of each terminal 29 has an insulated section, andupon this switch 4 is adapted to rest rises so as to release the whenthe machine is not operating, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.Between the terminals 2626 and 2929 is insulation 33 (see Figs. 1 and3), and 34 are contact pins which pass loosely through holes in theswitch 4, and are held in yielding contact against the respectiveterminals by a spring- 35 which is secured to the switch 4. In order toinsure that the latch 17 should be tripped at the proper time when thebar 6 in 18 from the latch 17, I rovide a reg ating screw 36, whichexten s through a projection 37 on the cam 19 and to the latch 17. Thiswill enable said screw 36 to be adjusted so as to compensate for anywear that may take place upon the cam 19, and I have also added a locknut 38 through which the screw 36 passes, to lock said screw in itsproper position when adjusted to the same.

As soon as the long arm of the lever 10 is forced down by the propercoin or token in the chute 12, the extension 16 on said lever 10 willtrip the latch lever 14 so as to release the pin 15 on the bar 6, whensaid bar will be drawn down by its weight 24, until the nose or cam 22rests on in 21, and the pin 9 on the bar 6 will pull own the adjacentarm of the switch 4, bringing the pins 34 in contact with the twoterminals 26 so as to complete the circuit through line 27, and thusener izing the field 28. Immediately therea ter the pins 34 on theopposite arm of lever 4 will make contact with terminals 29, completingthe circuit through line 30, the motor armature 1, 'controller 31 andbranch circuits 32, and vitalizing the motor, and thus cause the shaft 3and the disk 20 to revolve in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. Thisshaft 3 will revolve slowly, as before described, as will also ofcourse, the disk 20. The pin 21 on said disk will ride slowly on cam 22so as to permit the bar 6 to descend slowly, and consequently to preventa too sudden movement of the lever switch 4, and thereby preventingturning on the full current at once. When said disk has made about threequarters of a revolution, the pin 21 will come into contact with theupper ed e of the cam 23, and will then move along the surface thereofuntil it gets into the recess 39 between said cam and the cam 22, andthen bearing upon the upper shoulder of said recess, will force the bar6 upward; and just as the disk 20 is about to complete one revolution,the pin 21 will cause the bar 6 to rise so that the pin 15 on said barwill-arrive at a point a little above the latch 14. Alittle furthermovement of the pin 21 on the disk 20 will cause said pin to raise thebar 6 sufficiently to cause thecam 19, or the pin 36 on said bar, totrip the latch 17 and to disenga e the latch from pin 18. At thismoment, t e disk-21 passing out of the recess 39, the bar 6 is allowedto fall so that the pin 15 is caught by the hook on the latch 14. At thesame moment the switch being before liberated by the trip )ing of thelatch 17, the counterweight 5 wi throw the switch back into the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus breaking the circuit first throughthe motor armature 1 and 'then through the field 28. The different partsof the machine that are operated by the motor will thus be stopped andthewhole apparatus will be held in the position shown in Fig. -1, withthe lever as shown in dotted lines.

It will be seen that by energizing the field before energizing thearmature and by deenergizing the armature before deenergizing the field,the circuits will not be too abruptly completed and broken, and alldanger from such trouble will be avoided.

It will of course be evident that my improved switch and its connectionsmay be applied to any electric motor, and to any machine or mechanismthat is adapted to be operated or controlled by electricity.

My invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the preciseconstruction described and shown, as many changes other than thosesuggested may be made without (16-: parting from the main principles ofmy invention or sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. An electric circuit controller for an electric motor, comprising twobranch circuits, one for connection with the motor armature and theother with its field, and means for completing it through the fieldbefore completing it through the armature, and for breaking the circuitthrough the armature before breaking it through the field, andmechanical connections between the motor and switch whereby the latteris actuated.

2. In an electric circuit controller, the combinationof a motor, twosets of terminals, one for the motor armature circuit and one for thefield circuit, a shaft, connections between the motor and the shaft forrevolving the latter, a lever loosely journaled between its ends on saidshaft, means for normally holding the lever with its contacts inconnection with the terminals during the greater part of the revolutionof said shaft, and means con nected with said shaft for releasing thelever at a period of the shaft s revolution, whereby the lever mayturnand move the contacts first out of connection with the armature circuitterminals and then out of connection with the field circuit terminals.

3. In an electric circuit controller, the combination of a motor, twosets of terminals, one for the motor armature circuit and one for thefield circuit, a shaft, connections between the motor and the shaft forrevolving the latter, a lever loosely journaled between its ends on saidshaft, means for normally holding the lever with its contacts inconnection with the terminals during the greater part of the revolutionof said shaft, and means connected with said shaft for releasing thelever at a, eriod of the shafts revolution, whereby the ever may turnand move the contacts first out of connection with the armature circuitterminals and then out of connection with the field circuit terminals.

In testimony whereof, I havesignedl'my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAX SCHUPPE.

Witnesses:

PENNINGTON HA-LSTED, EDWIN SEGER.

